His Greatest Battle
by queenofserendipity
Summary: Richard Castle wakes up alone in bed, his girlfriend Kate Beckett missing. What happens next may very well be his greatest battle yet. One-shot.


Richard Castle awoke with the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He frowned, his eyes still closed. Had he a bad dream or nightmare that had made him uneasy and jolted him awake? If he had, it had been erased from his memory the second he awoke. He hated this feeling; the feeling of uneasiness that settled over him without any apparent reason. Sighing, Rick reached out to capture Kate in his arms. Lately, he had discovered his anxiety was soothed by her touch. However, his hands did not brush her smooth skin, but instead the cold sheets of his bed in which her body had previously occupied.

Now, Rick knew why he was so restless. She was gone. Judging by the temperature of the sheets, she hadn't ben gone for that long. Sitting up and opening his tired eyes, he scoured the room. No, she was most definitely not here. Her clothes, however, were still scattered on the floor where he had taken them off in last night's activities. Rick noted that his shirt was missing amongst the mess, and he relaxed ever so slightly. It was likely she had just gone to get a drink of water in his shirt. That had become a habit of hers lately - wearing his shirts. He had to admit, it was extremely sexy, however he would be at a loss if Alexis or his mother were to come home when not expected and see her in it. He had not yet told his them of his new relationship status with the detective, and he was unsure of how they would react. Martha had always been an obvious supporter of romantic relations between he and Kate, however, his daughter was another story. She had always been the one to console him when everything between he and Kate had fallen through, and it was obvious her trust in his lover had diminished significantly.

With these thoughts, Rick lay back down. At least he didn't have to worry about them discovering his new relationship with somebody he truly cared about anytime soon - his mother was in Los Vegas, and Alexis was staying at her college campus for the rest of the term. Rick groaned as he looked at the time on his bedside clock. 2:30 am. Sleep was what he needed at the moment.

The crash came a few minutes later when he had only just begun to drift off again. He jolted into a seated position, and his whole body stilled. Thoughts ran through his mind as Rick tried to figure out which room the noise had come from. It wasn't close by, and he guessed it had come from the direction of the Games room. As quietly as he could, he slipped off the bed and retrieved his boxers, putting them on before picking up Kate's gun which was on the dresser. It was never far from her – though she promised him she was safe from the Senator and his henchmen, there were still many dangers they faced daily that she may need a gun for. Rick hoped this wasn't one of these situations, and that he was just overreacting about the noise.

Treading quietly, he made his way out of the bedroom, across the lounge room and towards the Games room, gun poised and finger on the trigger. Yes, the disturbance was definitely in the Games room. Rick could hear movement, and slowly, he rounded the corner and entered the room. His heart was pounding, and he was fully prepared to pull the trigger of his partner's gun on the imposter if a threat was apparent. However, when he saw who the person was he lowered the gun immediately.

"Kate"?

His girlfriend turned around quickly, dropping what she was holding in her hands.

"God Castle, you gave me a fright".

She bent down to pick up the laser tag equipment on the floor, and he stared at her.

" I gave you a fright?! You scared me out of my mind when I heard you knocking things over in here. What are you doing"?

Kate looked up momentarily at him and smiled suggestively before turning her attention back to the gathering the fallen equipment.

"I felt like playing laser-tag".

"At 2:30 in the morning"?

"Yes", She replied defensively, "Now help me put this on".

She stood up and held out the laser tag body pack.

"You're kidding me, right"?

Kate gave him a look that told him she most definitely was not, and seeing his hesitation, pouted.

"What, don't you want to play with me"?

Her question with coated with innuendos and subtext.

Rick made his way over to her and helped her to put on her pack, largely lacking enthusiasm, but willing to go along with what she wanted.

"Kate Beckett, you truly are insane".

She laughed and turned around, her pack now fitted on her small frame. Smiling, she grabbed a second pack, and pulled it over his bare chest. Her fingers brushed over his shoulders as she secured it, and he looked to her as she spoke.

"Not insane…", Kate told him coyly, leaning closer towards him, now finished with the pack, "… Just spontaneous".

She pulled back just as quickly as she had leant in, and Rick stood still, lost in his thoughts that her suggestions had attracted.

Kate smiled evilly, now sensing this was her chance. She lunged for one of the laser tag guns she had turned on prior, and hit her dazed boyfriend. His pack went of in a loud siren of defeat, and he was snapped out of his musings.

"Not fair"! Rick exclaimed, springing immediately into action by making his way over to the laser tag gun still situated in the Games closet.

"First to 10"! Kate laughed hysterically, racing out of the room.

Richard Castle laughed silently in wonder. She was really something completely different. He had a promising feeling that this laser tag battle was going to be the best yet.

* * *

**A/N**

**That's it! I was sitting here on the laptop at midnight, daydreaming, and my mind spun this story. Please inform me of any spelling or grammatical errors - I wrote this at 1:30 AM after all! Thanks for reading my one-shot, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, I love feedback!**


End file.
